No comments on political parties’ remarks on national polls: CEC Nasir

The Election Commission (EC) does not wish to delve into any political party's statements regarding the next national election as it is currently working to hold the polls based on the timeframe announced by the chief adviser, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin today (19 January)

The CEC made these remarks while talking to reporters during a ceremony at which a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) delegation handed over technical equipment to help the voter list updating programme at the EC headquarters in Dhaka.

Asked about a political party's demand for elections to be held between July and August this year, the CEC responded, "We do not want to get in the middle of political statements. We will adhere to the laws, rules, and regulations."

He said they aim to provide a level playing field where all players can participate in a free and fair election in line with the rules. "That is the environment we want to create."

He further added that the chief adviser has already announced that the upcoming national elections will be held either in late December this year or by June next year. "We are diligently working with that timeframe in our mind."

The door-to-door voter update process will begin tomorrow (20 January) with a central inauguration ceremony in Savar, he said.

Regarding the equipment received, Nasir said the UNDP has sent as technical support a needs assessment team that handed over 175 laptops, 200 scanners, and 4,300 bags.

Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Stefan Liller led the team that handed over the equipment.

Expressing gratitude, he said, "We may seek their [UNDP] assistance in the election process as well. We hope they will continue to support us. This is just the beginning, and it will be ongoing."

Around 65,000 people will be involved in the voter list updating process, said the CEC, expressing hope that the whole procedure would be completed within six months.

It is estimated that around 19 lakh new voters may be added to the updated list, he added.

"We are doing it [updating the voter lists] to clear the doubts. We are engaging so many people in the field. We are certainly hopeful that all doubts will be cleared, inshallah," he said, replying to a question from reporters.